CircleCI Curriculum
On this page
- CircleCI Curriculum Overview
- About CircleCI
- Architecture & Workflow
- Key Benefits for Modern DevOps
- Complete Curriculum Roadmap
- Module 1: Introduction to CircleCI
- Module 2: Getting Started
- Module 3: Configuration Basics
- Module 4: Executors
- Module 5: Workflows
- Module 6: Orbs
- Module 7: Environment Variables and Contexts
- Module 8: Caching and Artifacts
- Module 9: Testing in CircleCI
- Module 10: Docker in CircleCI
- Module 11: Cloud Deployments
- Module 12: Kubernetes Deployments
- Module 13: Parameters and Reusability
- Module 14: Security in CircleCI
- Module 15: CircleCI Runner
- Module 16: Insights and Monitoring
- Module 17: CircleCI API
- Module 18: Best Practices
About CircleCI
Cloud native continuous integration, reusable orbs, pipelines & docker executors.
Architecture & Workflow
Diagram
Key Benefits for Modern DevOps
- Automation: Eliminates repetitive manual procedures through codified configuration.
- Reliability & Consistency: Reduces configuration drift across development, staging, and production environments.
- High Observability: Provides deep telemetry into application and infrastructure health.
Complete Curriculum Roadmap
This comprehensive handbook covers the entire CircleCI engineering lifecycle across 18 structured modules:
Module 1: Introduction to CircleCI
- What is CircleCI: What Is Circleci, Circleci Use Cases, Circleci In Devops, Circleci Vs Other Cicd Tools
- CircleCI Architecture: Architecture Overview, Circleci Cloud Vs Server, Circleci Runner, Circleci Executor Types, Circleci Components
→ Explore Introduction to CircleCI
Module 2: Getting Started
- Setting Up CircleCI: Creating Circleci Account, Connecting Github, Connecting Gitlab, Connecting Bitbucket, Circleci Dashboard Overview
- First Pipeline: Config Yml Overview, Creating First Pipeline, Triggering Pipelines, Viewing Pipeline Results, Circleci Cli Setup
Module 3: Configuration Basics
- config.yml Structure: Config Yml Deep Dive, Version Field, Orbs Field, Jobs Field, Workflows Field, Executors Field, Commands Field, Parameters Field
- Jobs: What Is A Job, Job Structure, Job Steps, Job Environment Variables, Job Resource Class, Job Parallelism
- Steps: Built In Steps, Run Step, Checkout Step, Save Cache Step, Restore Cache Step, Store Artifacts Step, Store Test Results Step, Add Ssh Keys Step, Attach Workspace Step, Persist To Workspace Step
→ Explore Configuration Basics
Module 4: Executors
- Executor Types: Executors Overview, Docker Executor, Machine Executor, Macos Executor, Windows Executor, Choosing Executor
- Docker Executor Deep Dive: Docker Executor Config, Primary Container, Service Containers, Docker Images For Circleci, Convenience Images, Custom Docker Images, Docker Layer Caching
- Machine Executor Deep Dive: Machine Executor Config, Machine Images, Machine Vs Docker, Docker In Machine Executor, Machine Executor Use Cases
- Resource Classes: Resource Classes Overview, Small Medium Large, Xlarge 2xlarge, Gpu Resource Class, Arm Resource Class, Choosing Resource Class
Module 5: Workflows
- Workflow Basics: What Is A Workflow, Workflow Structure, Sequential Workflows, Parallel Workflows, Workflow Triggers
- Workflow Control: Job Dependencies, Requires Directive, Conditional Workflows, When Condition, Unless Condition, Workflow Filters
- Advanced Workflows: Fan Out Fan In, Approval Jobs, Scheduled Workflows, Manual Approval, Workflow Best Practices
Module 6: Orbs
- Orbs Basics: What Are Orbs, Orb Structure, Using Orbs, Orb Registry, Trusted Vs Partner Orbs, Orb Versioning
- Popular Orbs: Node Orb, Python Orb, Go Orb, Docker Orb, Aws Cli Orb, Aws Ecr Orb, Aws Ecs Orb, Kubernetes Orb, Helm Orb, Slack Orb
- Creating Custom Orbs: Orb Development Overview, Orb Yaml Structure, Orb Commands, Orb Jobs, Orb Executors, Orb Parameters, Testing Orbs, Publishing Orbs, Orb Best Practices
Module 7: Environment Variables and Contexts
- Environment Variables: Env Vars Overview, Project Level Env Vars, Pipeline Env Vars, Built In Env Vars, Env Vars In Steps, Env Vars Precedence, Secrets Best Practices
- Contexts: What Are Contexts, Creating Contexts, Using Contexts In Workflows, Context Restrictions, Sharing Contexts, Context Vs Project Env Vars, Context Best Practices
→ Explore Environment Variables and Contexts
Module 8: Caching and Artifacts
- Caching: Caching Overview, Cache Keys, Save Cache, Restore Cache, Partial Cache Restore, Cache Strategies, Dependency Caching, Cache Best Practices
- Workspaces: Workspaces Overview, Persist To Workspace, Attach Workspace, Workspace Vs Cache, Workspace Use Cases
- Artifacts: Artifacts Overview, Storing Artifacts, Accessing Artifacts, Artifact Use Cases, Artifacts Vs Workspaces
→ Explore Caching and Artifacts
Module 9: Testing in CircleCI
- Test Configuration: Testing Overview, Running Tests, Test Splitting, Parallel Test Execution, Storing Test Results, Test Insights
- Testing Frameworks: Unit Testing In Circleci, Integration Testing, End To End Testing, Selenium In Circleci, Cypress In Circleci, Jest In Circleci, Pytest In Circleci
- Code Quality: Code Coverage, Sonarqube Integration, Snyk Integration, Linting In Circleci, Static Analysis
Module 10: Docker in CircleCI
- Building Docker Images: Building Images In Circleci, Docker Build Push, Docker Layer Caching, Multi Platform Builds, Buildkit In Circleci
- Container Registry Integration: Docker Hub Integration, Aws Ecr Integration, Gcr Integration, Azure Acr Integration, Private Registry Integration, Image Scanning In Pipeline
Module 11: Cloud Deployments
- AWS Deployments: Aws Cli In Circleci, Deploying To Ec2, Deploying To Ecs, Deploying To Eks, Deploying To Lambda, S3 Deployments, Aws Oidc Integration
- GCP Deployments: Gcp Cli In Circleci, Deploying To Gke, Deploying To Cloud Run, Gcp Artifact Registry, Gcp Oidc Integration
- Azure Deployments: Azure Cli In Circleci, Deploying To Aks, Deploying To App Service, Azure Container Registry, Azure Oidc Integration
Module 12: Kubernetes Deployments
- Kubernetes in CircleCI: Kubernetes Deployment Overview, Kubectl In Circleci, Kubeconfig Setup, Deploying Manifests, Rolling Updates, Kubernetes Orb Usage
- Helm in CircleCI: Helm In Circleci, Helm Deploy Pipeline, Helm Orb Usage, Helm Chart Testing, Chart Publishing
- GitOps with CircleCI: Circleci And Argocd, Circleci And Fluxcd, Image Promotion Workflow, Gitops Pipeline Patterns
→ Explore Kubernetes Deployments
Module 13: Parameters and Reusability
- Pipeline Parameters: Pipeline Parameters Overview, Defining Parameters, Parameter Types, Using Parameters In Jobs, Using Parameters In Workflows, Triggering With Parameters
- Reusable Configuration: Reusable Commands, Reusable Executors, Reusable Jobs, Anchors And Aliases, Config Splitting, Dynamic Config
- Dynamic Configuration: Dynamic Config Overview, Setup Workflows, Path Filtering, Continuation Orb, Dynamic Config Use Cases, Dynamic Config Best Practices
→ Explore Parameters and Reusability
Module 14: Security in CircleCI
- Security Basics: Security Overview, Secret Masking, Ip Ranges, Oidc Tokens, Audit Logs
- Security Scanning: Dependency Scanning, Container Scanning, Sast In Circleci, Dast In Circleci, Compliance Checks, Security Best Practices
→ Explore Security in CircleCI
Module 15: CircleCI Runner
- Self Hosted Runner Basics: What Is Circleci Runner, Runner Vs Cloud, Runner Use Cases, Runner Architecture
- Installing Runner: Install Runner Linux, Install Runner Docker, Install Runner Kubernetes, Runner Configuration, Runner Namespaces, Runner Resource Classes
- Managing Runners: Monitoring Runners, Runner Scaling, Runner Security, Runner Maintenance, Runner Best Practices
Module 16: Insights and Monitoring
- CircleCI Insights: Insights Overview, Workflow Insights, Job Insights, Test Insights, Credit Usage Insights, Flaky Test Detection
- Monitoring Pipelines: Pipeline Monitoring Overview, Webhook Notifications, Slack Notifications, Email Notifications, Status Badges, Api Monitoring
→ Explore Insights and Monitoring
Module 17: CircleCI API
- CircleCI API Basics: Api Overview, Api Authentication, Api V2 Overview, Api Rate Limits, Api Client Setup
- API Operations: Triggering Pipelines Via Api, Getting Pipeline Status, Managing Contexts Via Api, Managing Env Vars Via Api, Managing Projects Via Api, Insights Via Api, Api Automation Examples
Module 18: Best Practices
- Pipeline Design: Pipeline Design Principles, Fast Feedback Loops, Fail Fast Strategy, Pipeline Optimization, Reducing Build Times, Cost Optimization
- Configuration Best Practices: Config Organization, Naming Conventions, Reusability Patterns, Version Pinning, Config Validation, Config Testing
- Production Best Practices: Production Checklist, Multi Environment Pipelines, Deployment Strategies, Rollback Strategies, Incident Response, Circleci Migration Guide